At Mercy Regional Medical Center, our vision is every community, every neighborhood, every life - whole and healthy. We are blessed to have many incredible associates, advance practice providers and physicians who are dedicated to ensuring this vision is put to action and lived out in the communities we serve.
This week we highlight the work of Mercy Family and Internal Medicine physicians Dr. Joe Murphy (retired) and Dr. Sarah Goodpastor. Drs. Goodpastor and Murphy volunteer with the local CoronaDoc program through which they provide confidential, accurate, educational information about COVID-19 to local business, organizations, churches and more.
The CoronaDoc program was developed and is administrated by a community volunteer, Jack Turner, in partnership with San Juan Basin Public Health.
“There is lots of information regarding regulations and restrictions,” Turner said, “but it dawned on us that most people never talked to a doctor about the pandemic. The media, social networks, and friends are the primary source of information. It’s not always accurate and there’s no two-way communication. People want to ask questions about the virus and vaccines from a trusted professional.”
During an hour-long Zoom session, Drs. Goodpastor and Murphy share information about Coronavirus, data that shows the effectiveness of following the health measures we’ve been asked to follow such as masking, information about the COVID-19 vaccines and more. They also spend 20 to 30 minutes answering questions and addressing any concerns.
“People have been really appreciative, and we’ve been able to counter a lot of myths,” Dr. Goodpastor explained. The two have already visited with many civic groups including Rotary clubs, the Business Improvement District, local churches, accounting firms and presentations continue to be scheduled daily.
“We are proud of our work getting accurate, scientific-based information out to help protect our community,” said Dr. Goodpastor. “I’d love for more people to know about our program so we can continue to educate the community with accurate, evidence-based information.”
